A number of industrial processes create heat as a byproduct. In some circumstances, this heat energy is considered “waste” heat that is dissipated to the environment in an effort to maintain the operating temperatures of the industrial process equipment. Exhausting or otherwise dissipating this “waste” heat generally hinders the recovery of this heat energy for conversion into other useful forms of energy, such as electrical energy.
Some turbine generator systems have been used to generate electrical energy from the rotational kinetic energy a turbine wheel. For example, the rotation of the turbine wheel can be used to rotate a permanent magnet within a stator, which then generates electrical energy. Such turbine generator systems use a compressed gas that is expanded during the flow over the turbine wheel, thereby causing the turbine wheel to rotate. In some circumstances, the fluid flowing toward the turbine wheel can include “slugs” of liquid state fluid intermixed with the gaseous state fluid. The presence of liquid slugs in the working fluid can reduce the efficiency of the turbine system.